Aedes Castoris et Pollucis
About
Vowed 499/496 BCE after the Battle of Lake Regillus, dedicated 484 BCE; rebuilt by Tiberius after a fire, rededicated 6 CE in the names of Tiberius and his late brother Drusus. Standing in 117 CE; three Corinthian columns of this Tiberian rebuild survive today.
What happened here
The building itself is a house for the god, and most people never go inside. Everything public happens on the steps and at the altar in front: an animal led up, examined, killed cleanly, its organs read, the meat divided and eaten. The priest covers his head and a flute player keeps up a noise so no ill-omened word is heard. Worshippers leave what they can afford — a terracotta figure, a coin, a model of the body part they want healed — and the accumulated clutter is periodically cleared and buried on site. On festival days the doors are opened and the cult statue is dressed, garlanded, and sometimes carried out through the streets. The temple also holds money, which is why towns keep their treasury in one.
In ancient writing
- Livy, Ab urbe condita 2.20.12, 2.42.5
The temple is vowed on the field at Lake Regillus when the Dioscuri are seen fighting for Rome, and dedicated by the vower's son fifteen years later.
Sources
Roman Maps shows the empire frozen at 11 August 117 CE, the day Trajan died — its moment of greatest territorial extent. Explore the full map →